Daniel Craig Covers Parade Magazine

James Bond star Daniel Craig takes the latest cover of Parade magazine, out Friday. Here’s what the Quantum of Solace actor had to say:

On who would be the better James Bond —- Barack Obama or John McCain: “Obama would be the better Bond because — if he’s true to his word — he’d be willing to quite literally look the enemy in the eye and go toe-to-toe with them. McCain, because of his long service and experience, would probably be a better M (Bond’s boss, played by Dame Judi Dench). There is, come to think of it, a kind of Judi Dench quality to McCain.”

On how playing the world’s most famous spy has changed his life: “I was at a stage of my career in which things were going pretty well. I was making plenty of money, relatively speaking—enough to live on. But when this opportunity came along, I knew it would turn everything upside-down. I’m 40 now. It really helped me put things in perspective. It wasn’t about the money. It was about changing things up and seeing what would happen. At some point, life starts to pass you by and becomes about avoidance. I want to stay clear from that situation, because I don’t like that.”

On becoming a sex symbol: “If people want to think of me that way, that’s great. But the truth is, I don’t have a connection with that image.”

On donning a Speedo for the Bond films: “I was being objectified, but actually that’s not a bad thing to feel. (laughs) I knew exactly what was going on when I did that shot. There’s a conscious decision to everything I do. For me to say, ‘Oh, God! I didn’t realize that would happen!’ sounds incredibly naïve. I look at that picture, and my only thought now is that I certainly don’t look like that anymore. For Quantum of Solace, I made a decision that I wanted to get bigger and get muscles, because Bond is older and has probably been training.”

On moving past the sex symbol status: “As I keep saying, I’m 40 now, and in five years’ time or even less, sex symbol might be a really kind of weird term to attach to myself. How about sexy father figure?”

On connecting with his many tough-guy antecedents in Hollywood: “The obvious choice for me would be Bogart. Not only because of that ease he had with his unique take on masculinity, but also—and this is much more important—because he got to sleep with Lauren Bacall.”

To read the full cover story, visit Parade.com. Check out the video interview here.